Rose Weasley and the Keeper of the Fire
by chasingafterstarlight
Summary: When Rose Weasley attends Hogwarts with her cousin Albus, she soon meets Scorpius Malfoy and is thrown into a flurry of events and revealed secrets of Hogwarts. RW/SM, AP/SM/RW friendship and many others! Please read, I don't think this will disappoint.
1. Chapter 1

Rose Weasley and the Keeper of the Fire

Chapter 1: Ride on the Hogwarts Express

Rose Weasley beamed at her cousin Albus as they boarded the train to Hogwarts. She'd heard it called multiple names, but the one that stuck in her head the longest was the name "Hogwarts Express." It sounded mysterious, a mystery, and that was what Hogwarts had remained to Rose ever since she'd heard about it at the tender age of two. She and Albus had speculated over the school for hours, wondering which house they would be placed into, what friends they would make there and which teachers where the nicest. James, Albus' brother, was all too happy to provide them with information, only they couldn't be sure if it was true or not.

But now, here they were, on the train. Grabbing Albus' hand, the two children began to walk down the narrow corridors in search of an empty compartment.

Someone rudely bumped into her from behind. Startled, she spun around to look into the grey eyes of the boy her parents had pointed out not ten minutes ago. _Scorpius Malfoy_- this boy was the enemy.

"Red hair, spotted face, you must be Rose Weasley," the boy said arrogantly. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy, but of course you must know that already. Pureblood son of Draco Malfoy- I'm a legacy. And who's this, Weasley, your boyfriend?"

"If you must know, he's my cousin," Rose spat, provoked already by the boy she'd known all of one minute. "Albus Potter- perhaps you've heard of him, son of Harry Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World."

"Is he really?" Scorpius asked, peering curiously at Albus. Then, realizing his mistake, he straightened up quickly. "I'll hope you're not in my house, Weasley."

"I'll hope the same, Malfoy," Rose responded. "Actually, I'll hope that I don't see you again anytime soon. Have fun in Slytherin with the snakes."

"Have fun in Gryffindor with the fools," Scorpius replied with an innocent wave. Sticking her tongue out childishly, Rose drug Albus out away from Scorpius.

"Stuck up git," Rose mumbled under her breath. "Thinks he can get away with insulting me just because he's a pureblood. I'll show him, I will."

"Rose," Albus admonished. "Don't you think you were a bit too hard on him?"

"Too hard on him?" Rose practically shrieked. "Albus, he insulted my family and yours with the first sentence he spoke! How could I _possibly _be too hard on him?"

"I don't know," Albus shrugged, still peering into compartments. "I just think it's a bit too early to be making enemies. Oh, look, Rose- it's Lysander, Lorcan and...a girl I've never seen before."

"Me neither," Rose replied, looking in curiously. "Shall we join them?"

"Yes, we shall," Albus confirmed. Sliding open the glass door, Albus greeted. "Hello."

Lysander Scamander, the elder of the two twins, grinned. His twin, Lorcan, who was indistinguishable from Lysander except from the small scar above his eyebrow, smirked. The two boys had the same tousled brown hair and bright blue eyes.

Lysander, the more outgoing of the two, was the first to greet the two newcomers. "Rosie, Albus...ie! So good to see some fellow first years. Have a seat, won't you?"

"There are too many elder students here," grumbled Lorcan. "They make me feel short."

"That must be hard," Rose joked. Both Scamander twins took after their father in that they were tall boys, already 5 foot 8 though they were only 11 years of age. Glancing over towards the still-silent girl, Rose asked as nicely as she could manage, "What's your name?"

"I'm also a first year," The girl said.

Rose exchanged a confused look with Albus. "But what's your name?"

"Oh, my name?" The girl asked, seeming bewildered. "My name is Janelle. Janelle Elwood."

"Elwood?" Rose mulled. "I don't believe I've heard that surname before."

"Oh, no, I'm Muggle-born," Janelle replied dreamily. "I'd never thought there was such a thing- magical schools! My parents fell in love with the idea of a magic school as soon as they heard of it, and sent me as soon as I got my letter! I've heard of some Muggle parents being against magic. I suppose I'm very fortunate."

"You remind me of-" Lysander began.

"Mum!"Lorcan finished, doubling over in laughter. "Exactly what I was thinking, Lys!"

The food cart rolled by the door then, interrupting their 'discussion'. Lysander hopped up immediately. "Look, Lorcan, food!"

"I'm not too hungry," Lorcan replied. "Buy all you want, though- Mum's given us a good amount of money."

"All right!" Lysander cheered. Noticing the others, he quickly asked out of politeness, "Anyone want anything?"

"I'm not too hungry," Janelle informed them all. Her tone still had the dreamy aspect to it that made Lorcan and Lysander exchange glances once again.

Quickly, Rose told them, "I'd fancy a pack of Chocolate Frogs. But no worries- I'll pay for mine."

Lysander sighed in relief. Upon receiving a glare from Rose, he quickly explained, "I'm a poor child, Rosie, or else I would certainly pay for your- erm- _Chocolate Frogs._"

"They're good!" Rose protested.

"You actually eat them?" Albus looked as if he might become sick. "Rose!"

Rose shrugged. "Well, what else are they for?"

Janelle, who had been carefully observing them, told Rose, "You take after your father in attitude."

"My father? How do you know about him?" Rose wondered. She'd known her father was famous, having helped Harry Potter defeat Voldemort when he was just a few years older than Rose. However, she hadn't known that details of his fame had spread even to the Muggle-borns. She hadn't even known she would be recognized for her parentage- she had expected that with Albus, though.

Janelle leaned down and reached into her Muggle pocketbook, removing a large book. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she pushed the dirty blonde curls out of her eyes and flipped through the book. Once she'd arrived at the desired page, she skimmed it until she found what she was looking for. Her violet eyes lit up. "Here- it says, 'Ronald Bilius Weasley, sidekick to Harry Potter, is a redheaded wizard that enjoys Quidditch, food and making jokes. He is known for his bravery, even when faced with his biggest fears, and his sense of humour.'"

"I suppose I'm like him," Rose responded, "except I don't much like Quidditch. I find it rather boring."

"Boring?" Albus and Lysander said in unison, giving her identical looks. "How can you find Quidditch boring?"

"Mum finds it rather dangerous," Lorcan informed him. "She's always talking about Nargles in the air, her _and_ Dad. I find it hard to want to get on a broom."

"What book is that, anyway?" Albus asked hurriedly.

"Oh, don't worry, I know of your parentage too," Janelle smiled. "Son of Harry Potter- what an honour!"

_An honour?_ Rose questioned internally. It wasn't as if either of them had chosen their parentage. For whatever reason, they had just been born into their families. Not that Rose regretted it- no, she loved her family. But even though she loved being recognized as Ron and Hermione Weasley's daughter, she didn't consider it an honour as much as a privilege.

Beside her, Albus frowned. "I wasn't asking about my parentage, I already know much about that. But what book is that in?"

"Oh," Janelle frowned. Flipping her book over, she looked at the title. "_Modern Heroes of the Wizarding World."_

"Oh!" Rose's eyes lit up. "I've read that book- twice, in fact!"

"_Twice_?" Lysander's bright blue eyes enlarged to twice their size. "What? How could you have had time to read that whole humongous book twice?"

"She's a bookworm," Albus stated proudly, smiling at his cousin. "Just like her mum."

"So you got your mum's smarts," Janelle said, obviously still trying to figure her out. "And your dad's sense of humour."

"I suppose," Rose replied uncomfortably. Thankfully, their discussion over what Rose had inherited from whom was cut short by the compartment door sliding open once again. All heads turned to see Victoire Weasley, cousin of Rose and Albus.

"Rosie! Albus!" Victoire exclaimed, rushing over to her younger cousins and kissing them once on each cheek.

"Merlin, Victoire," Albus muttered, wiping off his cheeks. "You act like you didn't just see us thirty minutes ago."

"Or were you too busy snogging Teddy Lupin?" Rose teased.

Fire burned in Victoire's pale cheeks. She had her mum's fair blonde hair, but her father's pale skin and dark blue eyes. She scowled at her cousin. "It doesn't matter who I was- or _wasn't- _snogging. I'm here to welcome all of you to the school, officially, as Head Girl."

Albus stared at her, dumbfounded. "_You _got Head Girl?"

"Don't look at me like that," Victoire admonished. "My father got Head Boy, too. Anyway, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh, right," Rose remembered. Nudging Lysander, whose mouth had fallen open at the mere sight of Victoire (probably because she was one eighth Veela), Rose told her, "Victoire, these are my friends Lorcan," Lorcan grinned at her, "and Lysander Scamander." Lysander finally closed his mouth. He smiled a lopsided grin at her. Disturbed, Victoire offered him a half-grin. "And this is my new friend, Janelle Elwood." Janelle beamed at her.

"I've heard of your parentage," Janelle informed her. "One eighth Veela- not to mention the werewolf blood! You should be a very interesting creature, indeed."

Being a very calm person, unlike Rose, Victoire just grinned. "So I'm not human, then?"

Janelle blushed. "That's not what I meant to imply. I'm sure you're human."

"Good," Victoire nodded. "The prefects will be coming 'round soon- you'd better watch out, Roxanne's a prefect for Gryffindor. The other prefect is that handsome lad Roxanne's had an eye on, Benjamin."

"How does Fred feel about that?" Rose asked.

"Says he doesn't care much for prefects," Victoire responded. "Well, that's a nice way of putting it- he actually said he doesn't give a rat's... _bum_, because prefects might as well be called _prats._"

Rose and Albus stifled laughs. "Well, thanks for the update, Victoire."

"You're welcome," Victoire grinned. Then the grin fell from her face and she looked at the five first-years grimly. "You better _all _be in Gryffindor. I'll expect to see you there."

They all nodded, and with a wave, Victoire left the compartment. Lysander was finally able to return to normal, after a smack in the head from Lorcan.

"Feeling alright there, brother?" Lorcan teased.

"Just fine," Lysander growled, rubbing the back of his head. "Why'd you have to hit me, anyway?"

"We were losing you," Lorcan smirked.

Janelle cut in. "What house do you suppose you'll be in?"

"I want to be in Gryffindor," Rose stated.

"Ravenclaw, like Mum," Lorcan grinned.

Lysander smacked the back of his head. "Ravenclaw's for prats. I want to be where the real fun is, in _Gryffindor_."

Albus hesitated. "I would like to be in Gryffindor, but now, I'm considering Slytherin."

All of them gasped. Rose felt her eyebrows hit the top of her forehead. She had always counted on the two of them being together in Gryffindor. Could Albus possibly be sorted into Slytherin?

Eager to change the subject, she asked, "What about you, Janelle?"

"I would like to be in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff," Janelle told them with a small smile.

Before the discussion could continue any further, the door to the compartment slid open again. On the other side stood a familiar blonde haired boy who was grinning proudly. It seemed as if he had achieved something monumental on his very first day.

"Hello, I'm Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," Scorpius informed them superiorly.

"Why are you here?" Lysander asked point-blank.

Scorpius scowled. "I've been sent here as a messenger for the Slytherin fifth-year prefects, Zabini and Tiffany. They say for you five to change into your robes because we are getting near to Hogwarts. That is all."

"Good, now get out of here," Lorcan demanded.

"Or what?" Scorpius smiled sickly. "Do any of you even know any hexes?"

Rose stood up threateningly. "I know a few, Scorpius _Hyperion_- and by the way, that is the most ridiculous name I've ever heard- and I'm not afraid to use them."

Scorpius moved closer to her. "Bring it on."

Her wand was touching his nose and his wand was touching hers at this point. The other four first years were watching apprehensively.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Roxanne Weasley marched in. Seeing her cousin, she gasped. "Rose! Fighting on the first day? This is not what you've been taught!"

"We're hardly fighting," Rose mumbled, staring at the floor. Her gaze then caught Scorpius', and he seemed to be trying not to laugh. Angrily, Rose stepped on his foot. He yelped and grabbed it.

"She stepped on my foot!" Scorpius informed Roxanne.

Roxanne glared at both of them. "Both of you, come along."

Glaring at Scorpius, Rose followed Roxanne to the Prefect's Carriage. The Head of Gryffindor, Professor Bell, sat there. She looked Rose up and down. "Oh, another Weasley. You must be Rose Weasley. I knew your father and mother in school."

"Yes," Rose grinned. "They've mentioned knowing you."

"Professor," Roxanne cut in. "I've caught these two preparing to duel."

Professor Bell frowned. "Duel? How? They're only first years; they don't know any spells."

"Well, I can't speak for the blonde boy," Roxanne began, "but Rose has been learning spells for quite a while now. I'd expect she could duel anyone, no problem."

"Is this true?" Professor Bell's eyes concentrated on Rose.

Rose gulped. "Yes."

"I see," Professor Bell nodded. "Troublemaker just like your parents. Well, we'll deal with this later. Go put on your robes, both of you. We've just arrived."

**A/N: Stupid plot bunnies, bothering me constantly!**

**I've been wanting to write a Rose Fic for some time now. However, I don't really see her as the shy, quiet girl shown in the books. I would think she has quite the temper, being the child of Ron and Hermione! So I did change her up a bit. Also, in case you've forgotten, here are the families that will be mentioned:**

**Weasleys/Potters**

**Hermione/Ron: Rose, Hugo**

**Harry/Ginny: James, Albus, Lily**

**Percy/ Audrey: Molly II, Lucy**

**George/Angelina: Fred II, Roxanne**

**Bill/Fleur: Victoire, Dominique, Louis**

**Lovegood/Scamander**

**Luna/ Rolf : Lysander, Lorcan**

**Malfoy**

**Astoria/Draco : Scorpius**

**Well, please review and excuse my American English! I know I'm in no position to be starting a new fic, but still…**


	2. Chapter 2: The Sorting

Chapter 2: The Sorting

Rose and Scorpius moved quickly, putting on their robes (in separate compartments) and then getting off the bus. In front of them sat a row of carriages. Prefects were ushering kids about their age and older into the carriages. However, this wasn't the strange part. The strange part was that these carriages were not being pulled by anything. Rose inhaled sharply, then remembered something she'd read in the textbook _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ Something about..._thestrals! _She couldn't see them because she'd never seen anyone die.

Scorpius was shaking. "What...what are _those_?"

Rose inclined her head to look at Scorpius. There was fear in his eyes... fear in the eyes of the tough Slytherin himself. Shaking her head, she told him, "There's nothing pulling the carriage, Malfoy."

"What are you talking about?" Scorpius looked up at her, a terrified look on his face. "Don't you see them? Those horrid creatures?"

"I see nothing," Rose informed him. Then it hit her. _He could see them..._ "Scorpius, have you ever seen anyone..._die_?"

"Yes," Scorpius told her. "My grandfather...well, let's say he wasn't a merciful man and had many enemies. One night I was staying over there and... he was murdered in his sleep. I saw him die when I got up to fetch some water."

Rose's eyes widened. "That's horrible."

Scorpius nodded. "I suppose."

"You _can _see the thestrals, then," Rose realized. "Those are thestrals... only those who have seen Death can see them."

"Oh," Scorpius replied, visibly relieved. "That makes me interesting, then. I can see what others can't."

"Come on, you big git," Rose growled, tugging on the blonde's arm. "I don't want to miss the Sorting."

The two descended to the bottom of a hill. There sat a lake, and upon it were many boats, lit only by the light of candles. Slowly, they climbed into a boat with two other first-years. One, who was smiling widely, had long, shiny dark hair and dark eyes. The other had red hair and blue-green eyes.

"Molly!" Rose exclaimed, pulling her cousin into a hug, which rocked the boat quite a bit. "Where have you been? I didn't see you at the station or on the train."

Molly shrugged. "Dad was being quite slow. Mum reckons he didn't want to let me go. But we arrived late, and I had to squeeze into one of the first compartments I ran across. But it's so good to see you, Rose! Hopefully we'll be in the same house!"

"I hope so," Rose smiled widely.

"Who's the lad?" Molly wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"This is Scorpius Malfoy," Rose replied grudgingly. "I was caught when we were about to duel, so we had to go speak to Professor Bell."

"Head of Gryffindor, isn't she?" The girl beside Molly spoke. "She seems alright."

"And you are...?" Rose trailed off.

"Natalie Ballina Patil," The girl recited. "But just call me Natalie. You are...?"

Rose grinned. "I'm Rose Weasley, Molly's cousin."

"Ah," Natalie answered, "Ron Weasley's daughter, and Hermione Granger's too. Reckon you'd make a great Ravenclaw."

"I suppose so," Rose shrugged. However, she held no loyalty to Ravenclaw, so she finished, "But I was hoping to be a Gryffindor."

"What is it with all Weasleys wanting to be Gryffindors?" Natalie grumbled. Diagonally across from her, Scorpius grudgingly took the seat next to Rose and the carriage began to move.

"I can't believe it, either," Scorpius growled. "Slytherins are much better."

"And I suppose that's the house _you'll _be in?" Molly looked him up and down. Rose could tell that she was surveying this boy, trying to figure out what type of person he was. She grimaced. That was never a good sign. Sighing, Molly told him, "You seem like a Slytherin."

Scorpius lifted his eyes (which were previously trained on his lap) to meet hers. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Take it whichever way you'd fancy, snake," Molly frowned.

Natalie intervened before their dispute could become an all-out fight. "In truth, neither is the better house. Ravenclaw is obviously the better house."

All of them began to laugh. Glancing to the side, Rose observed the forest, which was lit only by lanterns. The Whomping Willow, which had been described to her by generations upon generations of Weasleys, stood ominously in the background, far off from the lake they were resting on.

"Reckon we should start paddling?" Rose inquired.

"Reckon we should," Molly replied, a smile on her face. Rose and Scorpius gripped hold of their paddles, and together the four first-years began to paddle.

At first, the boat glided smoothly on the lake without a problem. Grinning, Molly exchanged a glance with Rose. _This is effortless, _the glance seemed to say. _It's almost... fun._

However, the fun was ruined by a certain Slytherin. The young boy was obviously not fit for outdoor activity. His paddling grew more laborious by the moment, and as it did so, his paddling grew more out of line with the other three. Slowly, the boat began to rock back and forth, as if it was waiting for the perfect time to tip over and dump one unlucky first year into the water.

"Scorpius!" Molly scolded. "Would you quit that?"

"Quit what?" Scorpius complained, deliberately shoving his paddle back into the water. The boat rocked, showing its unstableness.

"Rocking the boat!" Rose and Natalie exclaimed in unison. They then exchanged grins.

"Isn't that something those daft Muggles say?" Scorpius frowned, unfazed. "Anyway, I can't help it."

The boat tipped a little more toward the side where Rose and Scorpius sat. Molly screamed. "STOP IT!"

"I can't help it," Scorpius begged, still thrashing his paddle back and forth. "I don't know what's going- ON!"

"AAHHHHH!" With a scream, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy were thrown from the boat into the still, calm waters.

Rose didn't know what to do. As a child, they hadn't lived near the beach or any sort of warmth. Her only time when she had swam before had been when they visited Victoire, Dominique and Louis, so she didn't have too much experience. Suddenly, a hand gripped her arm tightly and pulled her to the surface.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy!" Rose panted, gasping for air. Her hand automatically reached up to brush through her red hair, which had become soaked. "I'm going to murder you!"

"Well, at least I saved you," Scorpius replied cheekily, earning a glare from Rose.

"Honestly, if we weren't already in trouble, I would hex you here and nose, you barmy twit!" Rose exclaimed, turning red.

"Let's get back in the boat," Scorpius replied, unaffected by her words. He hoisted himself onto the boat. Then, grinning, he offered Rose a hand. Embarrassed, she took his hand and allowed him to hoist her soaking form onto the boat.

"Blimey, Rose, you're completely wet," Molly announced, as if Rose couldn't see it herself. Shivering, Rose nodded miserably. The air around them was colder than it had been before they had fallen in.

Suddenly, Rose glanced up, and sudden warmth passed through her. Hogwarts, the school she'd dreamed of going to for years upon years, sat right in front of her. Its wide stone towers and huge windows- everything she'd heard from her parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The castle was breathtaking in its own right; she could hardly wait to see the inside.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Natalie breathed, obviously stoked too.

"Yeah," Rose nodded. Across from her, Molly was telling off a shrunken Scorpius.

"How can you be so daft- knocking my cousin out of the boat- the prefects won't be happy, nor will the Professors! How can one person cause so much trouble in one day?" Molly hardly even stopped to breathe.

Rose took in a breath. As much as she despised the young Malfoy, he didn't deserve all of this- it _had _been an accident. Hesitantly, she tapped Molly's shoulder. "Mol? Give the lad a break, will you? Come look at the castle, it's breathtaking."

Nodding, Molly turned around to join them. Scorpius shot Rose a grateful smile.

Once the boat reached shore, Victoire attacked them. She crushed Molly and Rose in a hug. "Where have you four _been_? The professors are all out, searching for you- Merlin, Rose, you're wet! What happened?"

"Scorpius knocked-" Molly began, all too eager to turn Scorpius in.

Rose interrupted. "Scorpius and I fell out of the boat."

"That's horrible!" Victoire gasped. Grabbing her wand out of her pocket, she waved it and murmured, "Abaguamenti!" Water rushed off of Rose and onto the ground, rendering her completely dry. Victoire then did the same to Scorpius. "Now, you'd best be off, I'd expect they're starting the Sorting soon."

"What d'you reckon they'll do?" Molly asked, wide-eyed. "My dad told me that there's a terrible challenge you'll have to face, I certainly hope not-"

"Molly, your father likes to poke fun," Rose sniggered at her gullible cousin.

Natalie shook her head. "No, there's no challenge."

Suddenly, someone grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her back a little bit. She turned to see Scorpius Malfoy. "_What_?"

"Thanks for not, erm, turning me in," Scorpius muttered, blushing. "And I'm sorry for making you fall into the water."

Smiling, Rose told him, "No problem."

The four first-years pushed open the doors to the Great Hall. Heads turned to look at the newcomers. James Potter shot them a wink, and Roxanne just smiled feebly. Albus looked immensely relieved.

"You must be the last first-years!" The headmaster, Professor McGonagall, came rushing down the aisle. She then ushered them up to the front. "Natalie Patil- you're between Nott and Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, you'll be between MacMillan and Montague, and you two Weasleys are back here with your cousin Dominique and Whitby."

Molly and Rose slid in between Dominique and a rather large boy. "Domi!" Molly whispered, grinning. "Can you believe we're about to be Sorted?"

"Should be interesting," Dominique grinned. "I wonder what house I'll be in. I'm not scared of much- probably be Gryffindor."

"Look at that," Rose hissed. "What is it?"

"A hat, obviously," Dominique rolled her Weasley-blue eyes. However, her blonde hair set her apart from the rest of the family.

"It's _singing_," Molly informed them, appalled.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Dominique sniggered. But Rose didn't reply, she was listening to the Hat. It _actually _was singing!

Once its song stopped, McGonagall stood back up on the platform. "First years, please approach the platform as you hear your name called and sit down on the chair. The Hat will place itself on your head and choose which house you will be in."

Rose's heart pounded inside of her chest. _What if I'm a Slytherin? _Rose thought. Though her mother had offered comforting words, her father's words still rang inside her head_- "we'll disown you."_ She was fine with being a Gryffindor, or even a Ravenclaw, but she'd have to admit she'd be disappointed to be a Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Not that there was anything wrong with the people in those houses- they were fine people- but she didn't consider herself to be one to belong there.

"Albert Boot!" Professor McGonagall rang out. A small, blonde-haired boy walked up onto the platform and nervously sat down in the chair. The Sorting Hat placed itself on his head… one second, two, three…. "RAVENCLAW!"

The table that was clothed in all blue and bronze erupted in applause. Albert hurriedly walked over to the table and sat down beside a brunette boy.

"Jayma Boot" was the next in line. She was obviously Albert's twin, Rose had heard that there were quite a few twins this year. Jayma beamed as the hat placed itself on her head, and then without any hesitation, the hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!" Jayma hurried over and sat down beside her twin.

Rose watched intently as people were sorted. Janelle, the girl from the train, was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Professor McGonagall called. Arrogantly, Scorpius strutted up to the platform. The hat placed itself on his head, and quickly screeched, "SLYTHERIN!" Scorpius grinned smugly and settled down comfortably at the Slytherin table.

_Lucky git,_ Rose thought internally, scowling.

Later, Natalie Patil from the train was sorted into Ravenclaw, and then Albus Potter uncertainly walked up onto the platform. Rose hoped silently for her cousin. _Please let him be a Gryffindor- please- _and then a loud "SLYTHERIN!" rang out.

The room was silent.

"Slytherin?" A Slytherin muttered quietly.

"Blimey!" Rose could hear Lysander Scamander murmuring. "Albus is in Slytherin?"

Albus Potter was frozen on the platform. Finally, McGonagall came over to him and muttered something. Nodding, he blushed and walked slowly over to the Slytherin table, sitting down next to Scorpius. Scorpius smiled weakly at him.

"Um, how about our next person?" McGonagall was quick to say. "Max Roger!"

After Max and a boy named Allan were Sorted, Lorcan Scamander was ushered up onto the platform. The Hat hesitated a bit more with him, but its final verdict was "RAVENCLAW!" Lysander was after Lorcan, but he was Sorted into Gryffindor.

"No!" Lysander pretended to wail. "We've never been separated."

"Get over it," Victoire hissed, ushering the younger boy over to the Gryffindor table.

Quite a few people later, Dominique Weasley walked slowly over to the hat, clearly in no hurry. The hat was placed on her head. It seemed to be fighting an internal battle, but finally it announced, "Gryffindor!" Cheers were heard throughout the Hall.

Molly was next, and she all but flung herself at the chair eagerly. The Hat placed itself on her head and almost as soon yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" Molly ran over and sat beside Dominique, watching intently for Rose.

"Rose Weasley!" Professor McGonagall announced. Applause came from the audience. She walked over to the chair, settling down in it. The Hat placed itself atop her red hair.

"_Hm, Weasley,_" The Hat said. "_I've already sorted two of you today… perhaps you'll also be in Gryffindor. Ooh, I can see smarts, just like your old mum… a good sense of humour… and bravery, you've got plenty of that!_ _Your flaws… your temper, your anger, and your bossiness. You're a lot like your mum._

_I want to be in Gryffindor,_ she thought.

_What is that? A desire to make a legacy for yourself_, The Hat replied. _Slytherin…_?

_NO! _Rose all but screamed. _Gryffindor!_

_Fine, _the Hat relented. "GRYFFINDOR!"

She could hear the screams coming from that side of the room. Roxanne crushed her in a hug, congratulating her and apologizing for turning her in ("Y'see, I couldn't let you off easy in front of that Malfoy lad- he'd probably tell his parents, and I'm not looking for any trouble!"). Victoire hugged her too, and James grinned at her ("I knew you would be in Gryffindor, unlike my brother. _Slytherin!- _what will Dad say?"). That seemed to be the issue on Albus' mind too. His face was still deathly pale. However, she shrugged it off and listened to Molly gush about how excited she was. After a hearty meal, Molly was still talking.

"Can you believe it? We're all in the same House! This year is going to be so much fun!" Molly squealed.

"Hey, Mols," Lysander interrupted her, catching her in a hug. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you're in Gryffindor too, I've forgotten," Molly teased.

He frowned. "How could you forget _me_?"

"Stop the first-year flirting, _please_," Someone said from behind. Blushing, Molly and Lysander spun around to see Fred Weasley II, who was grinning. "Good job, you children. Looks like you've been placed in the right house. Now follow my prat- excuse me, _prefect_ sister and her boyfriend Benjamin, they'll show you your dorms."

"Fred!" Roxanne admonished. The first-years giggled and lined up behind her. She led them to the Gryffindor dorms. The portrait of the Fat Lady greeted them.

"Oh, first years," The Fat Lady grinned. "What a pleasure…what's the password?"

"_Dumbledore,_" Roxanne stated. The door swung open, and all the first years paraded after Roxanne and Benjamin until they stopped.

"All right, this is where we split," Roxanne informed them. "Girls, follow me. Blokes, you go with Percy. Boys aren't allowed in the girls' dorms."

"But girls are allowed in the boys' dorms?" piped a boy with dark skin and dreadlocks.

"Yes, Zimri," sighed Roxanne. "Let's go."

Rose, Molly, Dominique and two girls she didn't recognize followed Roxanne up the stairs to a room. Roxanne pointed to the room. "This is the Gryffindor First Year Girls' Dorm. You will all share it, and you will all be polite and courteous to each other. Are we clear?"

All five of them nodded. "Yes."

"Good," Roxanne smiled. "Now, all of you head off to bed, it's nearly midnight."

All of them nodded again. Satisfied, Roxanne left.

"What are your names?" Rose asked the two girls whose names she didn't know.

"I'm Lorrie Garrow," said the girl with blonde hair. "No relation to Amycus Carrow, whom I've recently learned is a Death Eater. I'm Muggle-born, anyway, so there's no way I _could _be related to him."

"Mary Alice Finnigan," the other girl, who had dark hair with side-bangs and dark eyes. "Our dads went to school together- your dad is Ron Weasley, correct?"

"Yeah," Rose grinned. "I'm Rose Weasley, and these are my cousins Molly and Dominique Weasley."

"Nice," Lorrie nodded.

"So, did you see the boys?" Mary Alice gushed. "That one lad, Lysander, he was incredibly handsome!"

Molly and Rose exchanged glances. "_What_?"

"Lysander... he's as boring as a stick," Dominique replied, flicking a piece of dirt off her pillowcase. "All of the guys in our year are nitwits- no _way _do you want to even think about them."

"Lysander's not boring!" Molly protested.

"Says the girl who's fancied him for over a year," Dominique retorted.

Rose couldn't help but laugh. She had a feeling that this was going to be the start of a great time at Hogwarts.

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews! Here's a shoutout to big big misty fan (to answer your question: Roxanne was being tough because she couldn't **_**not **_**be with little tattletale Scorpius around. Thanks for the advice, but I like my Character Relationships. Besides, cousins aren't nice to each other all of the time XD), Story Stalker (Thanks a lot :D), anonymous (cool, glad you like it!), That Crazy Seddie Girl (Haha, yeah. I found that out after I wrote it… o.o Lysander&Lorcan are really young. But that's okay, cause this is FF! XD Thanks though!), Adi (Haha, thanks a lot.), Romance and Musicals (Thanks a lot! Yeah, I'm a sucker for plot twists), ravenecho (glad you like it :D),Unspeakable53 (yeah, me too! So glad you like it!).**

**Anyway, I got a lot of reviews, but not so many hits. I really don't want to sound desperate, but if you want to (this is a request, NOT a demand), could you recommend it or something? I would seriously love you forever. haha! Please review, though. Thanks!**

**And special thanks to my new editor/ publisher, Harriet! She's already thinking about making this into a film adaptation….lol. She also helped me to make pictures and come up with personalities for **_**all **_**the OCs, and there are so many of them! So thanks to her!**


	3. Chapter 3: Classes Begin

Chapter 3: Classes Begin

Rose was walking down a beaten path. On either side, flowers bloomed from between stalks of bright green grass. She felt cheerful for the first time in a while. The sky overhead was blue and she was completely alone.

That was, until someone appeared in the middle of the path.

Scorpius Malfoy smirked at her. "Rose Weasley."

"Scorpius Malfoy," She mimicked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'd suppose I'm here for the same reason you are," Scorpius grinned at her. "Needed an escape, eh?"

"How did you know that?" Rose wondered, glaring at him.

"I know everything, Rose," Scorpius smiled maliciously.

Rose screamed, and then someone shook her. "Rose, Rose, wake up!"

Opening her eyes slowly, Rose saw Molly shaking her. Groaning, she asked, "What time is it?"

"7:30," Molly informed her. "Breakfast is in thirty minutes in the Great Hall. The alarm had already sounded thirty minutes ago, you didn't wake up."

"Strange," Rose yawned. "You've already dressed, haven't you? Merlin, I've got to hurry. You can go down to the Great Hall- I'll be a bit late."

"Fine, suit yourself," Molly muttered, walking out the door with Lorrie Garrow.

Hurriedly, Rose threw herself out of bed, brushed her hair and put on a fresh pair of robes. With pride, she tied the Gryffindor tie. Grinning at her reflection, she flew into the common room and bumped into an Asian boy.

"Sorry," she apologized profusely.

"It is okay," The boy said, grinning at her. "Ah, you are Gryffindor also?"

"Yeah, that explains why I'm standing in the Gryffindor common room," Rose laughed.

"Ah, yeah, I forgot," the boy smiled. "Cool to meet you, I am Bob Wang, exchange student from China."

"I'm Rose," Rose extended a hand. Bob just stared at it, so she quickly withdrew it. "So, you're late too?"

"Yeah, I cannot get used to British times," Bob laughed. "You know there are so many Asian in this year! But they are all British Born Asians. I am only _real _Asian."

"That's cool," Rose gave him a smile as they approached the Great Hall. A teacher stood outside it.

"Nice to see you two have decided to show up," The teacher drawled. He had brown hair, blue eyes and glasses that were perched on the tip of his nose. "You must be Rose Weasley and Bob Wang. I'd assume that the boy Asian is Bob, but then I'd be accused of being racist and sexist, so tell me your names."

"I'm Rose," Rose offered a tentative smile.

"I am the Bob Wang," Bob declared proudly.

"You two are the last of the lot," The teacher informed them. "I'm Professor Moore, Head of Slytherin, and I'd expect you not to be late again."

"Yes, sir," Rose replied.

Bob looked quizzically at him. "What do you mean, we cannot be late? At my old school, I was late every day and nothing can happen."

"This is not your old school, Mr. Wang," Professor Moore said, tight-lipped. "Please enter the Great Hall."

Flaming red, Rose entered the Hall with Bob by her side. They quickly sat down at the Great Hall, Rose beside Dominique and Bob beside a boy she had never seen before with dark eyes and hair.

"What did we miss?"Rose hissed in Dominique's ear.

"The usual," Dominique rolled her eyes. "McGonagall is just talking about how she _expects _us to do well in our classes and behave this year. As if we will."

Laughing, Rose tuned into what the Headmaster was saying.

"First and second years will all be given a schedule. You are expected to follow this schedule; no changes will be made unless there are severe problems which we are unaware of. Older students will be given their schedules after the younger students, if there are any changes that need to be made you will notify us. We will go by house, so first, Gryffindor first- and second-years, follow your prefects to the front."

Rose followed Benjamin and Roxanne to the stage along with the rest of the students. Once she got her schedule, she glanced over it.

"First class today is Potions with that horrid Professor Moore _and _all of the Slytherins!" She griped to Albus as they walked together to class.

"Sad to hear you feel that way," Albus pouted.

"Oh, Al, you know what I mean," Rose added. "Not you. And you mean to say that you _like _Professor Moore? And all of your fellow Slytherins?"

"Not all of them," Albus was quick to say. "But Moore isn't so bad. And neither is Scorpius, Allan, Royale, Merilyn or Aquarius. But Elinor and Juliet- _never _talk with them."

Pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear, Rose inquired, "Why not?"

"They are... just... not the best people," Albus cringed. "They have this notion that purebloods are above all others."

"So does Scorpius," Rose was quick to contradict him.

"Yeah," Albus sighed. "But Scorpius' ideas aren't as strong, he only says that because that's what he's been fed by his dad his entire life. Elinor and Juliet's ideas are entirely their own."

"Oh," Rose nodded.

"Plus they're forever gossiping about the blokes," Albus complained. "Bit annoying, really."

Sighing, Rose followed Albus into the Potions classroom. They were some of the last to arrive, so there were no two-person tables open. Rose slid in beside Molly.

"Welcome to the torture chamber," Rose moaned.

"Seriously!" Molly laughed. "This class is bad enough without putting it in a dungeon."

Someone clapped at the front of the class. Startled, Rose shifted her head to see Professor Moore.

"I am delighted to hear that you all enjoy this class so very much," Professor Moore droned. "To make it even more enjoyable, I will be assigning you lab partners." Sighs were heard from all over the class, and Professor Moore just smiled. "We, as professors, are striving to improve interhouse relations, so Slytherins will be paired with Gryffindors and vice versa." Groans of protest came from everyone, especially the Slytherins. "I wasn't aware that your relationships were this bad. Oh, well, let us begin. The partners are Martin Finnigan and Aquarius Flint, Albus Potter and Zimri Jordan, Bob Wang and Elinor Vaisey, Molly Weasley and Dawson Nott, Augustus Flint and Brady Toller, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, Lorrie Garrow and Royale Higgs, Juliet Montague and Dominique Weasley, Mary Alice Finnigan and Allan Rosier, Lysander Scamander and Merilyn Goyle. Please move accordingly."

"What?" Rose hissed angrily.

"It's not like mine is any better," Molly moaned.

Rolling her eyes, Rose told her cousin, "_That _is not true. Dawson Nott is not bad looking, and he doesn't seem to be too mean. Scorpius Malfoy is a different story."

Molly shrugged. "Well, you'll just make the best of it, won't you?"

"I suppose so," Rose grumbled. Slowly, she drug herself over to where Scorpius Malfoy was already seated. He turned and beamed at her. "A pleasure to see you too, Weasley."

"As always, Malfoy," Rose replied, not bothering to meet his eyes. She sat down into the seat next to him.

Bob Wang grinned at her from the next table. Elinor Vaisey had already deemed him as 'not bad' and was attempting to chat him up. Likewise, to Molly's displeasure, Lysander seemed equally as pleased with the pairings.

"Slick Slytherin git," Molly muttered from the table behind Rose. "Thinks she can come along and steal my lad, who does she think she is?"

"Merilyn Goyle," Dawson sniggered. "Ice Queen of Slytherin, daughter of Daphne Greengrass and Gregory Goyle, and apparently superior to every other human being. Why, Weasley, that your boyfriend or something?"

Molly's face hardened. "Lysander Scamander is _not _my boyfriend. He is, however, comparable to my brother and therefore I don't want him to get _involved _with that Slytherin git."

"Nor do I," Dawson shuddered. "I don't wish that on anyone."

"Looks like your cousin's got herself a boyfriend," Scorpius hissed, drawing Rose's attention away from Molly and Dawson's discussion. "At least, if she can manage to get _dear _Merilyn away from him."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Rose hissed. "Lysander likes Molly much more than he'd ever like Merilyn. At least _she _can get a sort of boyfriend."

"I'll have you know that I've got the girls crawling all over me," The conceited Scorpius informed her.

"I'll have you know that I don't care," Rose growled, leaning back in her seat and tuning in to what Professor Moore was saying.

"And we will be doing many experiments this year. Many of these will be with your lab partners, so I'd expect the two of you to get along," Professor Moore told them. Sighing, Rose thought, _Scorpius and I could never get along._

The class seemed to drag on forever, what with Scorpius making annoying comments, Lysander talking to Merilyn, and Molly looking on angrily as Dawson teased her. However, Albus seemed satisfied to chat with Zimri, Albus being one of the only decent Slytherins.

_Why couldn't I have been paired with Albus? _Rose thought. _This Professor Moore bloke is out to get me. He heard that I hate Scorpius, so we ended up as partners._

"Class dismissed," Professor Moore finally announced. "Except for you, Miss Rose Weasley. I'd fancy a chat with you for a moment."

Moaning internally, Rose pulled herself out of her chair and made her feet move toward his chair. "Yes, Professor?"

"I suppose you've noticed that I've paired you with Mr. Malfoy," Professor Moore frowned.

"How could I not?" Rose muttered under her breath.

Professor Moore pointedly ignored her. "This was for a reason. I've seen that you do not possess the qualities necessary to be a Potions master, such as patience, accuracy, and timing."

"Oh, and Malfoy does?" Rose questioned.

"Now, I'm certainly not trying to play up Mr. Malfoy's abilities," Professor Moore told her. "But his parents have informed me that he is exceptionally good in the area of Potions, and as far as I'm aware, though you're not bad at it, Potions is not your strongest area."

Rose frowned slightly. "Forgive me, Professor, but what does it matter?"

"I figure that you two will be able to play off each other very nicely," Professor Moore replied. "Balance each other out."

"I suppose we will have to," Rose said, standing up. "May I be excused?"

"Go ahead," Professor Moore rumbled, waving his hand. "I'm not stopping you."

Next was Transfiguration class with Ravenclaw. Since McGonagall had been promoted to Headmaster, Professor Bell had taken over that class. She smiled at the front of the class, tapping her wand on an apple which rested on the table in front of her. Each time she touched the apple, it would transform into something different. It became a bottle, a cat, a frog, a book, a quill... the possibilities were endless.

Lorrie Garrow, who was seated on one side of Rose, gasped. "Are we going to learn how to do _that?_"

"That could be so cool!" Natalie exclaimed. "We could make a really big difference in the world- turn dirt into food for starving people..."

"I'd quite like to learn how to turn those annoying little buggers in the air into something useful," Janelle, who was on Rose's other side, said dreamily, waving her wand.

"I'm not quite sure what the annoying little buggers are," Professor Bell told her. "But we _will _be learning how to change something into something else. This is what is called _Transfiguration- _the art of taking one thing and magically changing it into something else. We'll start off with a simple task. Each of you will be given a quill, much like the ones you use to write with. Using magic and the spell I will tell you, you will transfigure it into an apple like the one on my desk."

Embarrassed, Rose slowly raised her hand. "Professor, I've already learned this spell."

"Oh, just like your mother, aren't you?" Professor Bell nodded, a twinkle in her eye. "Well, Ms. Weasley, why don't you come up here and show us how to do it?"

Rose blushed and walked to the front of the classroom. Waving her wand, she muttered, "_Transfigurus Apple."_ Slowly, the quill began to change its shape. It took the shape of a large, red apple.

"Well done, Ms. Weasley!" Professor Bell praised. "It looks almost good enough to eat. Ten points to Gryffindor!"

However, Rose was not quite as successful in the next class, History of Magic. The teacher, Professor Binns, was a ghost, and for a ghost he was extraordinarily boring. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs all looked as if they were about to fall asleep.

"When do we learn interesting things?" David Macmillan wondered.

"Aren't ghosts supposed to be entertaining?" griped Martin Finnigan, looking as if he planned to hit his head on a textbook. "This guy isn't even remotely funny."

Catherine Kays, a Hufflepuff girl, frowned at them. "Come on! We're supposed to be taking notes, you heard him-"

"Is anyone actually taking notes?" Curt Zane, another Hufflepuff, replied.

"Bob Wang!" Professor Binns yelped. "Please remove your head from the textbook and explain yourself!"

"I cannot concentrate," Bob whined. "So boring. I fall asleep."

Rose, who had been trying to stay awake and take notes like a good girl, sniggered behind her textbook.

The final class of the day was Herbology, which was taught by an old friend of her mum and dad's- Neville Longbottom.

"Hello, Rose!" He greeted her as she walked into the classroom. "Gryffindor, yes? Oh, very well. I figured as much, knowing your Mum and Dad."

Since this was a class that was shared by Gryffindor and Slytherin, Albus followed her in. Professor Longbottom greeted him too. "Albus! It's been a long time! Are you in Gryffindor too then? Wait...no... green and silver...you're a Slytherin!"

"Yes, I am," Albus replied hastily.

Professor Longbottom looked surprised. "The son of Harry Potter- I never would've guessed-"

Smiling sheepishly, Albus told him, "Well, I suppose I'm not my dad then."

To the student's great 'delight', Professor Longbottom began the class with, "Hello, my name is Professor Longbottom."

"Professor Long_bottom_?" Martin Finnigan hooted under his breath. Scorpius Malfoy let out a chuckle, and Mary Alice Finnigan sniggered.

"Yes, Longbottom," Professor Longbottom blushed. "And I'll be teaching you Herbology."

"Obviously," drawled Scorpius Malfoy.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Professor Longbottom growled, "I'd thank you to keep your mouth shut. Anyway, we will be working with pumpkins for the first part of the year."

"Pumpkins?" Merilyn Goyle wrinkled up her small button nose. "Aren't those sort of _boring_?"

"They won't be boring come Hallo'ween, when we can do fun things with them," Professor Longbottom explained. "But until then, we will just care for them. Everyone will have their own pumpkin. I implore you to take good care of them-"

"What does _implore _mean?" Augustus Flint, a particularly thick Slytherin boy, inquired.

"Oh, my," Professor Longbottom put his hand to his forehead. "It means I ask you to. Now, everyone take a pumpkin seed."

The rest of the class passed quite uneventfully. As they left, Albus, Rose, Dominique and Molly called, "Bye, Professor Longbottom!"

"Well, that finishes today's classes," Molly told them, sounding a bit like a chirping bird.

"Not soon enough," Dominique rolled her bright blue eyes that were so reminiscent of her dad's.

Nodding, Rose seconded, "This day felt as if it would drag on forever. What classes do we have to attend tomorrow?"

Albus checked his schedule. "We have Defence Against the Dark Arts with your House. Why do Gryffindor and Slytherin have so many classes together?"

"I suppose it's because of prejudices," Rose shrugged. "So, DADA with the Slytherins first thing tomorrow, then? And then what?"

"Charms taught by Flitwick with Hufflepuff," Molly read off, looking a bit displeased. "Flitwick is awfully old, isn't he? He taught when my parents were here. He hasn't retired yet? Or worse yet..." Molly trailed off.

"I suppose not," Dominique sniggered, glancing at her cousin. "I mean, he _is _teaching at the school."

"He could be a ghost," Molly defended, crossing her pale arms tightly across her chest.

"He _could,_" Albus agreed. "Just like that Professor Binns ghost... but I hope not... he was awfully boring."

"I agree," Rose grinned. "But what is after Charms, Molly?"

"Oh, yes," Molly glanced down at the paper again. "It says here that we have Astronomy with Ravenclaw. In that class, are we learning about the stars and all of that stuff?"

"I suppose," Rose replied thoughtfully. "What _can _we learn about stars and stuff?"

Dominique shrugged. "I have no idea."

...

The next day, they were shaken awake by Lorrie Garrow, who apparently was an early riser.

"Five more minutes, Mum," Dominique whined.

"First of all, I'm _not _your mum," Lorrie replied angrily. "And second of all, get your ar...lazy bum up and get ready! Classes start in an hour!"

Sighing, Rose drug herself up from her bed and pulled off her pyjamas, changing into school robes quickly. She then went down to the Great Hall. Once Albus arrived, she waved him over to the Gryffindor table. Albus said something to Scorpius, and then they both nodded and sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Rose's eyes widened.

"Hiya, Rosie," Albus grinned. "Scorpius and I were planning on sitting together, but I wanted to sit with you also, so we decided to both sit here. Is that okay with you?"

Frowning, Rose stuttered, "I-I- it's fine."

"Good," Albus smirked at her. Scorpius just sat uncomfortably, aware of all the stares they were getting from Slytherins, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs alike.

"Don't worry," Rose told him. "They're just jealous that they didn't have the idea of eating at different tables first."

Scorpius nodded and dug into his eggs.

After a hearty breakfast, the three headed down to Defence Against the Dark Arts, while eavesdropping on Molly and Lysander who hadn't yet noticed that they were a short distance behind them.

"But Potions is useful too," Lysander argued. "If someone is dying-"

"You _hated _Potions before you had to sit with that Goyle girl," Molly groaned. "She's driving me mad!"

"Why?" Lysander said quietly. "Cause she's pretty?"

Spinning to face him, Molly blinked back tears. "And I'm _not_?"

"I never said that," Lysander defended. "C'mon, Molly, I'm only almost twelve, and I'm a lad. I don't care much for girls right now. Merilyn Goyle and I are just friends."

"Fine," Molly wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Lysander put his arm around her in a comforting manner.

Grinning, Rose caught Albus' eye and winked. Still in a bit of a happier mood, the three of them walked the remaining distance to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Welcome," The Professor greeted them. "You're a bit late. I'll expect you to ensure that it does not happen again. Please take your seats."

Since they were the last ones there, the only open seats were beside two Slytherin boys and Aquarius Flint. Accidentally groaning audibly, Rose sat down by Aquarius.

"What?" Aquarius growled, avoiding eye contact. "Scared to sit with me cause I'm a Slytherin? Isn't your precious cousin a Slytherin?"

Embarrassed, Rose quickly apologised, "Sorry. I only groaned because I was late, and the teacher is sort of annoying already."

"Sure," Aquarius finally looked up at her. She had dark brown eyes that matched her hair perfectly, and a nice smile. "Doesn't matter, anyway. Get enough exile from the other Slytherins 'cause I'm not that mean."

"You seem pretty mean to me," Rose joked, and Aquarius smiled gratefully.

"I will begin class now," The Professor groaned in a deep voice. "I am Professor Jamisona, your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

**CHAPTER 4 COMING SOON!**

**A/N: Hey, you guys! Fans of my story! I know there's not very many, but... do you want to know more about the about the characters of this story? Listen to house-inspired music? Answer questions on a discussion board? Be able to visualize the characters of this story? Well, click on my name (limegreenrocks) and click on the link that is at the top of my profile! Be sure to leave a comment on the discussion board!**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks to my reviewers: MM (Haha, I'm glad you like it! Keep reading), randaru102 (Thanks a lot, keep reading!), RavenEcho (Thanks a lot! I'm glad you like it :D), Flowers of the Dawn (good, glad you like it and thanks!), That Crazy Seddie Girl (Haha, I love R/Sc, and poor Albus. Thanks), Romance and Musicals (Yeah, poor him. But it'll be okay XD, thanks!), coketree20 (Thanks, glad you like it! Here ya go), and Adi (Hahaha Lysander XD Thanks a lot!).**

**Be sure to check out the website & review!**


	4. Chapter 4: DADA and Unforgivable Curses

**Chapter 4: The Mysteries Begin**

All of the students glanced warily at each other, wondering whether to reply. Finally, confident, cocky Scorpius replied, "Hello, Professor."

"You, lad, what is your name?" Professor Jamisona asked in an emotionless voice.

"Sc-Scorpius Malfoy," The usually confident Slytherin stuttered. "Why, sir?"

"Scorpius Malfoy, please come up to the front and sit beside me," Professor Jamisona ordered. Trembling, Scorpius walked to the front and sat on a stool beside the professor. Professor Jamisona continued, "Today we will be learning about Unforgivable Curses."

"Unforgivable Curses?" Rose muttered under her breath, and exchanged a shocked look with Aquarius. Slowly, she raised her hand. "But, sir, we're only in First Year. That's not usually taught until Third Year at least."

Scowling, Professor Jamisona made his way over to right beside where she was sitting. "Rosalie Weasley, eh? Daughter of Ron Weasley and that know-it-all Hermione Granger. Just like your mother, then." His face hardened. "I'll have you know that you wait until you are called on in this class. No speaking out of turn will be tolerated. Also, I am fully aware that the students in this class are in First Year. Do you think those supporting the Dark Arts will care what year you are in?" The class was silent. He glanced around, as if waiting for someone to answer. "Well, do you?"

"No," The class chorused in a whisper.

"Good," The Professor finally seemed satisfied. "Let us proceed with the lesson then." Nodding, he turned to Scorpius. "Scorpius, child, what is your favourite animal?"

"A snake," Scorpius said quietly. "Like Slytherin."

Cued by Scorpius' announcement, the Slytherins let out a hoot, but were silenced by a glare from Professor Jamisona. Professor Jamisona nodded. "Very well then." He grabbed his wand and a piece of paper. "_Transfigurus Snake!" _The class watched in awe as the paper grew a tail. A head sprouted out of the front, and the white papyrus turned into scales. Teeth sprouted from the green, scaly head, and the thing began to slither toward Rose, who was sitting in the front row.

Letting out a small shriek, she held up her wand and muttered, "Immobulus." The snake froze right where it was.

"Terrific, Ms. Weasley," Professor Jamisona murmured sarcastically. "At least one person in this room can perform spells, which, I'll admit, is more than I expected. But this snake was meant to move. _Mobilius_." He mutters the countercurse, and once again the snake begins to move. "Now, who can tell me the first Unforgivable Curse?"

"Crucio," Scorpius Malfoy mumbled from behind him.

"What was that, Malfoy?" Professor Jamisona asked, turning around.

Scorpius raiseed his voice a little bit. "_Crucio_."

"Yes, quite the favourite of your family, isn't it?" Professor Jamisona smirked. As he hung his head, Rose could detect just a slight tinge of red on Scorpius' pale cheeks. Deciding to do something nice for once, she sent him a sympathetic smile. She knew what it was like to live in the shadow of your parents' legacy- though, of course, it _must _be worse for Scorpius. Her parents were war heroes. His parents were war villains.

Unaware of the battles in his students' head (or perhaps he was aware, he just didn't care), Professor Jamisona continued, "Observe the effects of this curse, even when done to the worst of animals. _Observe_! CRUCIO!"

On the table in front of him, the snake began to writhe in obvious pain. Scorpius looked horrified. The expression on his face revealed that he was torn- either save the snake and get in trouble, or he could watch it suffer. Either one was a horrible option. Finally, Rose glanced over at him again, and at the same time, they yelled, "Levareatus!"

The snake rolled over, seemingly panting in relief. Professor Jamisona turned his glare on Rose and Scorpius. "What in the name of Merlin was that, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley?"

"I was saving the snake," Scorpius replied coldly.

"_Saving _the _snake?_" Professor Jamisona repeated scornfully. "What a heroic deed. But, unfortunately, I must ask you to refrain from interrupting my lessons. Detention, both of you, tomorrow."

Sighing, Rose planted herself back in her seat. Satisfied, Professor Jamisona continued on. "Next curse, please, Miss Weasley."

"The _Imperius _curse," She muttered. Rose felt unwilling to give him the curse that would finish off the innocent snake.

His lip curled up. "Excellent." Turning to the snake, he muttered, "_Imperius!" _As he lifted his wand, the snake moved with it in a sort of sick and twisted way. With a quick glance around the class, Rose could tell the entirety of it was terrified, just like she was. Some of the weaker Slytherins had their eyes squeezed shut. Grinning sadistically, he finally set down the snake. "Now, who is able to give me the last Unforgivable Curse?" His eyes landed on Aquarius. "Aquarius Flint?"

"The Killing Curse," Aquarius told him. Rose had to give her credit; her voice didn't tremble at all when she spoke.

"And what is the Killing Curse, Miss Flint?" Professor Jamisona demanded.

"We don't speak of it," Aquarius informed him, still working to keep her voice steady.

The Professor raised one dark eyebrow. "And why is that, Miss Flint? Fear of the curse only increases fear of death itself."

"It's not fear," Augustus, her twin brother, inserted himself into the conversation. He was obviously defending his sister. _That's nice_, Rose thought. _I thought that family values were pretty much lost on Slytherins. _Oblivious, Augustus finished, "It's _respect. _Our mother was lost by that very curse. Can you not understand why we don't like speaking it?"

"Who is your mother?" The Professor asked, intrigued.

Each raising an eyebrow as if to say 'why do you care, you evil, evil, man', Aquarius and Augustus informed him in unison, "Pansy Parkinson."

"Hm," Professor Jamisona tapped his chin. "You don't resemble her much. Good thing, too. Anyway, is there one student in this class who- excuse my American English- has the _guts _to say the Killing Curse?"

Bored, Elinor Vaisey picked at her nails and answered, "_Avada Kedavra."_

"Excellent!" The Professor rejoiced. "Five points to Slytherin!"

Horrified, Aquarius leaned over to Rose. "This man is certifiably evil."

"Agreed," was all Rose could choke out.

As if to prove their point, he murmured the incantation "_Avada Kedavra." _The snake collapsed at his hands. Brushing his hands off, he informed Scorpius, "You may dispose of your snake pal. For homework, do a little research on the Unforgivable Curses. Class dismissed."

The class filed out, most in shocked silence. Well, most of them except Molly Weasley, who hardly ever shut up.

"Can you believe him?" She ranted, hardly even stopping to breathe. "Teaching Unforgivable Curses to first years! Showing us the _effects _of Unforgivable Curses! He's Unforgivable, that man, killing an animal in class! And not just any animal, but a snake, Scorpius' favourite!"

"Oi, Lorcan!" Lysander called, seeing his twin. "What did you Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws do in Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

Lorcan's eyes looked haunted. "It was horrible."

"Well, then, you did the same thing we did," Lysander frowned. "Reckon we should go speak with McGonagall?"

"I reckon you should go to class," Lorcan advised him. "Class starts in 5 minutes, and, though I don't think Flitwick will care much, but it's not wise to be late on the first day. I'm going now, so I suppose I'll meet you there."

"Fine, Gramps," Lysander grumbled.

"Loosen up, Scamander," Molly teased. "Let's head to Charms."

...

As they walked into the Charms classroom, it was not obvious which one Professor Flitwick was. He stood among the tiny first years and seemed as if he was one of them.

"He's short," Natalie Patil, who had come in behind all of them, exclaimed without thinking. She then blushed wildly.

"Smart, Patil," Lorcan teased. "I can see why you're a Ravenclaw."

"Oh, shut up, Scamander," Natalie laughed.

"_Ahem,_" Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. No one heard it, so he tried again. "_AHEM!"_

All the first years turned to face him, wide-eyed.

"Please take your seats," the Professor said, more calmly this time. The first years scattered, still whispering and chatting, to sit down in their seats. Lorcan sat with Natalie, Molly with Lysander, so Rose was stuck with Dominique, who seemed bored (as always).

"Can I just go to sleep?" Dominique whispered.

Rose smacked the back of her head. "Wake up, lazy bum. This is things you'll need to know outside school."

"For your first charm," Professor Flitwick announced, "You'll be changing the textbook on your desk into the colour that you desire."

"Oh yeah," Dominique hissed, "Because I'll be changing my textbooks into different colours in _real _life outside of school. Yeah, right. _Bo-ring._" Frowning, Dominique stubbornly placed her head back on her desk and faked sleeping.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Rose kicked Dominique's foot. It was obvious that Professor Flitwick was _trying _to make the lessons fun for them, and give them a sense of individuality with the multicoloured textbooks. Too bad Dominique wasn't one to appreciate something like this.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Dominique Weasley," The Professor stopped at her table. "I taught your father when he went here, did you know that? Bill Weasley, very smart lad. If you're anything like him, you'll be able to perform this charm, no problem."

"I'm not much like him," Dominique replied, obviously biting back a bitter laugh. "I'm no good in anything but Quidditch and Muggle Art. But of course, we're not allowed to take Muggle Art this year, did you know that?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Professor Flitwick stated in that matter-of-fact way. "But, Ms. Weasley, I'll insist you give it a try. As I always say, you never know you're no good at something until you try it!"

"Fine," Dominique sneered. "What's the charm?"

"_Colourus Metamorphis," _Professor Flitwick told her.

Waving her wand, Dominique muttered the charm, "Colourus Metamorphis!" In front of her, her textbook changing to a dark black. "What in the world? Why did it change to black? I didn't specify a colour, is that the default colour?"

"No," Professor Flitwick laughed. "In fact, dear _nothing like my father _Dominique, you've done the spell perfectly. It is supposed to reflect whichever colour you are thinking of. And for you, that colour seems to be black.

"Let me see," Dominique replied, awed. "All right, I'll think of green." The girl, who hardly ever concentrated on anything but Quidditch and Art, seemed to be in deep concentration. Finally, she exhaled and said, "_Colourus Metamorphis!" _The colour of the book turned once again to a deep, forest green. Dominique gasped and Professor Flitwick clapped.

"Well done, Ms. Weasley, well done! You see, you can do everything you want to do, even if you think you're rubbish at it. You should always give it a try," He said encouragingly. "All right, everyone else give it a try."

Waving her wand, Rose thought of her favourite colour purple and gave the wand a swish and flick, the way she'd always been taught. _Swish and flick, _her mother would tell her repeatedly. _Swish and flick, never forget._ She then muttered the incantation, "_Colourus Metamorphis!" _Excitedly, she waited for the book to turn a nice shade of purple. Instead, nothing happened.

"What happened?" Rose muttered, crestfallen.

"Want some help?" Dominique's blue-gray eyes shone brightly, obviously thrilled at being better than Rose in a subject.

"No, Dom, but thanks," Rose replied. She preferred to hold on to her pride for a moment. Again, she thought of the colour purple clearly in her mind. Using all of her strength, she flicked her wand and said clearly, "_Colourus Metamorphis!"_

Nothing happened once again.

"Rose," Dominique said, tilting her head to the side. "The motion involved is not _Swish and Flick._"

"Yes, it is," Rose replied stubbornly. Pointing her wand above the book, she concentrated on purple and said clearly, "_Colourus Metamorphis!" _as she did the swish and flick. Once again, nothing happened.

"Fine, don't listen to me," Dominique raised one blonde eyebrow.

"Fine." Rose growled. "How do you do it, perfect little Dominique?"

"First, Rose, I'm not perfect. You want to see perfect, go talk to Victoire or something. Second, you need a more relaxed motion. That's why I'm so good at this particular spell- there's _no _motion involved. Just loosen up, wave it like a small child. We'll be doing your swish and flick soon enough," Dominique smirked.

Sighing, Rose decided to test it. Loosely, she waved her wand, thought of purple, and muttered, "_Colourus Metamorphis."_

Slowly but surely, a purple hue took over her book. Her eyes widened. "Wow, Dom, it actually worked! Thanks so much!"

"Were you doubting me?" Dominique beamed, the light travelling even to her bright blue eyes. "Maybe you should listen to me more often."

"Maybe," Rose confirmed, laughing. She glanced over at Molly, who had transfigured her textbook into a bright green colour, contradictory to Dominique's serene green.

Molly beamed. "Isn't this the most amazing colour ever, Rose? Lysander says it's annoyingly bright."

"It's...nice," Rose told her hesitantly.

...

Astronomy was their last class of the day, in the night time so that they could see the stars more clearly.

"What are we going to learn in this class?" Rose asked Catherine Kays beside her.

"Probably things about the lunar constellations," Catherine's eyes lit up. "Oh, I hope so! Don't you enjoy learning?"

"I suppose," Rose replied. "Isn't the teacher meant to be a nutcase?"

"Professor Sinistra?" Catherine's eyes widened. "She could never be a nutcase! She's a genius, really, Rose! You'll have to talk to her sometime."

"Uh, sure," Rose offered, slumping back in her chair.

Catherine was completely wrong. It was obvious from the moment that Professor Sinistra walked in the door that she was completely inane. Her grey hair flew everywhere, her dark glasses hung loosely off her nose, and her plump body was encased in dark blue wizarding robes.

"I must take roll, mustn't I?" She muttered, sounding entirely scatterbrained. "All right then... Catherine, Molly, Rose- oh yes, Weasley, I taught your parents at Hogwarts, they were rubbish at Astronomy-, Lysander, Lorrie, Peter, Haleigh..."

Sighing, Rose placed her head on the desk until the roll call was over.

They ended up looking at constellations and naming as many as they could. Rose was rubbish at Astronomy, just like her parents, apparently. Good thing for her- Catherine was amazing at Astronomy.

"See this one? It's Orion," Catherine gasped. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"Quite," Rose nodded. "How many constellations do you know?"

"A few," Catherine shrugged modestly. "I'm Muggle-born, but my mother majored in Astronomy at a Muggle university, so I've learned quite a bit about stars. Did you know that the stars implode at some time or another? They probably already have, actually, but the news won't reach us for a while."

"That's sort of strange," Rose nodded. Whilst they were speaking, Professor Sinistra came up behind them.

Nodding, she commented, "Orion, yes? An amazing constellation, isn't it? Didn't think you would know about Astronomy, your father was never any good at it."

"I didn't write it," Rose blushed. "Catherine's helping me out."

Turning, Professor Sinistra's eyes lit up. "Oh, Catherine Kays! So glad to have you in my class. I've spoken with your mother a few times, though she's a Muggle- and a very charming one at that, mind you. Perhaps you'll be a prodigy like her."

"I only hope," Catherine told her. "I'm not as good as she."

"You have the makings of a good astronomy major," Professor Sinistra complimented. Turning to Rose, she said, "You, not so much."

Sighing once again, Rose let her head fall to the table with a rather large _thump. _Catherine just stared at her like Rose was the insane one.

...

After class, Molly immediately announced, "We need to go speak to McGonagall."

"About what?" Lysander played oblivious.

Molly smacked his shoulder. "Don't play stupid. About Defence Against the Dark Arts, this cannot continue."

"Fine," Lysander gave up.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Who should we get?"

"Students from all four houses," Molly began to list them. "Me, you two, Lorcan, Dominique, Lorrie, Natalie, Mary, Bob, Janelle, Aquarius, Albus, maybe Scorpius if Rose can get him, Dawson, perhaps Royale-"

"We need more Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws," Rose cut in.

Someone cleared their throat from behind. One hand on her hip, half-Asian Catherine stood behind them, dark hair flipped behind her back. "Did you say Hufflepuff? What do you need?"

"Did you _enjoy _your Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson?" Molly inquired.

"No, obviously," Catherine grinned. "But what should we do about it?"

"We're going to talk to McGonagall," Lysander announced. "You in?"

"Sure, I'll get Ellie, Max, and David to join me," Catherine beamed. "Should be interesting."

Grinning, the Hufflepuff walked away.

"Check," Rose mimed checking. "How about some more Ravenclaws? Reckon Lorcan can get some?"

"Did you say Lorcan?" Lorcan Scamander appeared beside them, lopsided grin out of place on his face. "What do you need?"

"Déjà vu," Rose muttered.

Tossing her hair like Catherine had, Molly informed him, "We're going to speak with McGonagall about DADA. Can you go and get some of your Ravenclaws to join us? We're already going to ask Natalie and Janelle."

"I suppose," Lorcan shrugged. "When?"

"_Now._" Lysander grinned. "Should be fun."

...

In the end, Rose, Molly, Lysander, Dominique, Lorrie, Mary Alice, Lorcan, Albus, Scorpius, Catherine, Ellie, Max, David, Bob, Zimri, Kate, Matthew, Eric, Aquarius, Royale, and Dawson were the ones to go.

From the head of the lines, Rose whispered, "You reckon this is enough people?"

"I reckon so," Molly glanced down the lines. Rose, along with Molly, Lysander, Lorcan, and Catherine, lead the lines. Near the back, the Slytherins- Aquarius, Albus, Royale, Scorpius, and Dawson- walked slowly. Zimri, Bob, David, Max, Matthew, and Eric seemed engrossed in conversation. Mary Alice, Dominique, Lorrie, Kate, and Ellie weren't far behind them.

Behind, Ellie spoke up. "Think we'll get in trouble?"

"Why would we?" Dominique wondered boredly. "We're just headed to see the Headmaster."

"There's so many of us," Lorrie seconded.

"What if they think we're doing something illegal?" Kate sniggered.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Like _what?_ Plotting a secret army?"

"Like our fathers," Mary Alice rolled her dark eyes. "Sure... McGonagall's Army."

"Has a nice ring to it," Ellie mused.

Kate nodded. "And it doesn't sound illegal."

Sniggering, Rose suddenly realised that they'd arrived at McGonagall's door. The time had come.

**A/N: Here's some overview of the OCs that were mentioned- what houses they're in, blood status, just in case you're confused.**

**Gryffindor: Mary Alice and Martin Finnigan (pureblood twins of Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown), Bob Wang (Asian Muggle-born), Zimri Jordan (son of Lee Jordan and Alicia Spinnet, pureblood)****, Lorrie Garrow (Muggle-born)**

**Ravenclaw- Janelle Elwood (Muggle-born), Natalie Patil (daughter of Padma Patil, father unknown, blood status unknown, **_**POSSIBLE **_**love interest for Lorcan), Kate Thomas (daughter of Dean Thomas and Lisa Turpin, pureblood/halfblood), Matthew Goldstein (son of Anthony Goldstein and Muggle Ria Parks, halfblood), **

**Hufflepuff- Peter Finch-Fletchley (half-blood, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones' child), Catherine Kays (Muggle-born), Ellie Summers (Muggle-born), David Macmillan (son of Ernie Macmillan and Laura Madby), Max Roger (Muggle-born)**

**Slytherin- Merilyn Goyle (daughter of Daphne Greengrass and Gregory Goyle), Aquarius and Augustus Flint (twins of Marcus Flint and Pansy Parkinson), Royale Higgs (daughter of Millicent Bulstrode and Terence Higgs), Dawson Nott (son of Theodore Nott and Mandy Brocklehurst), Allan Rosier (Rosier descendant- son of Peter Rosier and Allyson Xavier)- they're all pure-blood**

**Sorry for all the OCs. You **_**definitely **_**shouldn't remember them are, some (for example: Matthew Goldstein) will not have any big part in the story. I'm taking votes now- who do you want to have a big part in the story? Who do you **_**not?**_

**Also, check out my**** other stories for the next-gen, if you like that, and reply to my question with a review!**

**Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5: Meetings and Older Brothers

**Chapter 5: Meetings, Brothers, and Late Nights**

Knocking slowly, the pounding echoed on the other side. Finally, McGonagall's voice came through. "Please come in."

As all of the first years filed in, they glanced around at the Headmaster's office. Portraits cluttered the walls, and papers were scattered haphazardly all around.

"Hey, Dom," called a dark-headed boy from a chair across from the headmaster's desk. "Nice to see you!"

"Louis?" Dominique peered curiously at her brother. "What are _you _doing here?"

"I've tried to avoid the lot of you Weasleys all year," Louis shrugged. "Guess I've done a pretty good job, up until now. Good to see you, though, little sister."

"You too, I suppose," Dominique gritted her teeth.

Natalie's jaw dropped. "You two are related?"

"I dyed my hair," Louis explained proudly. "And I've got brown eyes from who knows where, must be a recessive gene."

"Perhaps," mused Natalie. "But can you leave or something? We must speak with the Headmaster _alone_."

"About that git Jamisona?" Louis grinned. "Yeah, someone should. Barely even a week of school and he's already given me detention."

Horrified, Natalie gaped at him. Thankfully, McGonagall returned then. "Mr. Weasley, I'd advise you not to speak about our staff that way."

"Terribly sorry, Minerva," Louis pretended to bow.

"Mr. Weasley," Her voice went up a couple more octaves. "I've told you more than once to call me by my proper name, Professor McGonagall."

"Sure," Louis grinned cockily, relaxing in the chair.

"Now, what is it you children want to speak to me about?" McGonagall asked, staring at all of the first years. "Please, have a seat. I'd hope there's enough room on the rug."

"I'm not sure," Louis muttered.

Scorpius finally made his presence known. "We want to speak to you about Professor Jamisona."

Aquarius rolled her dark eyes. "We've found his teaching methods to be a bit... unorthodox."

"That's an understatement," Rose spoke up from behind Aquarius.

"Rosie? You're here too? And Albus, and Molly! Just a nice little family reunion, all the Gryffindors and ickle Slytherin," Louis muttered 'under his breath'.

"Anyway," Rose continued, ignoring her annoying older cousin, "We're concerned about his teaching methods. Today in class he showed all of us first years all three of the Unforgiveable Curses. At most wizarding schools, this is not taught until at least fourth year."

"Perhaps he just wanted to get you prepared," Professor McGonagall tried to see reason, as always.

"Prepared?" Royale Higgs burst out. "_This _is preparing us? Asking Scorpius what his favourite animal is, and then when he tells him it's a snake, conjuring a snake out of nowhere? Then, using _all three _Unforgiveable Curses on the snake right in front of Scorpius?"

"Right," McGonagall pursed her lips, as she always did when she was angry but didn't want to lose her temper. "Right. I suppose I should have a word with this Professor Jamisona. He is only here on recommendation from another professor."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Catherine smiled sweetly at her.

"Yeah, thanks for listening to what we have to say," Natalie seconded.

Louis just rolled his eyes. "You children are sickening."

"Shut your mouth, Louis," Rose and Dominique replied in unison, exchanging grins right after.

"First-years, you are dismissed, rest assured I _will _be having a word with Professor Jamisona," Professor McGonagall informed them, tight-lipped. "Mr. Weasley, please stay for a moment, we have not yet finished our _chat._"

Filing out the door, Rose exchanged secret high-fives with Molly, Albus, Lysander, and Dominique. Excited, she exclaimed, "McGonagall's going to have a _talk _with him! You know what that means- he'll be getting a lecture similar to the one Louis is getting right now."

"What do you reckon Louis did this time?" Natalie piped up.

"That brother of mine? Probably anything," Dominique said, fingers angrily running through her dirty blonde hair. "He's not right in the head, I swear. Didn't even congratulate us for getting into Gryffindor."

"I know!" Rose agreed. "It's even worse for you, he's your brother-"

"Speaking of brothers," Mary Alice cut in. "Don't ever talk to mine."

Catherine looked confused. "Why not? He seems nice."

"Just don't," Mary Alice groaned. "He's a bit immature. Well, that's an understatement too. He's extremely immature for his age."

"Girls mature faster than boys," Dominique agreed heartily. "You saw my brother back there."

Grinning, Molly asked, "Should I be glad that I _don't _have a brother?"

"Yes," Aquarius agreed. Rose was shocked to hear her join the conversation. Even though many barriers had been broken down between Slytherin and Gryffindor, the rivalry still existed, and all of them knew it. But here Aquarius was, talking to them as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Oblivious, Aquarius continued, "Brothers are nothing but a nuisance. Take mine, for example- he's got the notion planted in his head that he's going to be the next Slytherin playboy or whatever. As _if._"

"I think that's Louis' goal," Molly giggled. "Maybe they should team up, they'd probably work well together."

"Agreed," Dominique seconded. "My brother's got this insane thought that since he's twelve now, he's all big and bad. Victoire begs to differ- she's _seventeen._"

"Wonder what we'll be like when we get that age," Rose mused, thoughts running through her head. She tried to picture all of the members of this newly formed 'McGonagall's Army' as seventh-years, but failed completely. She couldn't imagine it at all.

"Anyway," Lorrie changed the subject. "It's actually getting kind of late, y'know, and soon the prefects will be wandering around."

"I've heard rumours about the types of punishments they give for being out after hours," Molly threw in, turquoise eyes wide. "It doesn't sound good at all. Maybe we should head back to our dorms."

Everyone quickly agreed, and said their goodbyes as they parted ways; the majority of them were headed to the Gryffindor dorms. Molly, Bob, Lysander, Rose, Dominique, Lorrie, Mary Alice, and Zimri talked as they went back to their dorms.

"Imagine we'd be mad to start up our own army?" Molly questioned. "I mean, not like fighting, as our fathers did before us. But just to practise our spells, and to discuss what we've learned. We won't have a teacher; no one is quite that experienced. But it might be fun to have some sharing time. I'm sure that some of us know _some _fun spells."

"Sounds like a good idea, actually," Lysander agreed, shooting her a grin.

Rose nodded. "It could be fun. And it doesn't have to be illegal, either. I don't think that McGonagall would mind."

"She'd probably say it's a good idea," Zimri agreed. "Y'know, agree with us."

"She doesn't show us much favour," Dominique pouted. "But this is interhouse interaction, something they're always wanting."

"I like this idea," Bob agreed, nodding. "But what if Professor Jamisona can find out? Maybe he can be mad."

"He probably would be," Mary Alice agreed.

"Yeah, probably," Rose thought for a second. "We could ask McGonagall and anybody else involved not to tell him. He can't be trusted, at least not yet. As we've seen before, he seems really...anti-trustworthy."

"Agreed," Everyone else seconded.

"Well, we're here," Molly announced, as if it wasn't obvious to everyone else around them. She quickly told the Fat Lady the password, "Rectumsempra," and the portrait swung open. All of the first years filed inside.

"We'll decide tomorrow," Rose announced. "Get some sleep, please."

"We'll try," Zimri snickered. Lysander punched him in the arm.

"Good night," The Gryffindors yelled to each other as they all ascended the steps to their respective dorms.

However, that night wasn't one of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep like Rose had been anticipating. Small noises awoke her at random intervals, and she wasn't able to fall asleep. Finally, after what felt like a few hours, she drug herself out of bed and threw on some slippers to see what was going on downstairs. They were making _such _a loud noise down there.

Slippers scuffling along the floor, Rose sleepily made her way down to the room where she'd heard Professor Jamisona's office was. Once there, she heard muffled voices inside. Peering around the doorway, she could faintly see the outlines of Professor McGonagall and Professor Jamisona.

"You can't continue to teach small children this way, Seth," Professor McGonagall said patiently. "They don't need to learn these things, especially since the fall of Lord Voldemort-"

"Don't say his name!" Professor Jamisona winced as if he was in pain.

"Seth, he's been dead for over fifteen years now, I will say his name as I like," Professor McGonagall told him scornfully. "As I was saying, ever since the fall of Lord Voldemort," Rose noticed him shudder again, "there is no need for such young children to learn such terrifying things, especially the Unforgivable Curses. They should be learning simple magic, things to help them pass their exams."

"Is there no need, Minerva?" Rose could almost picture the evil look in Professor Jamisona's eyes as he stared at the headmaster. "Is there? There are other wizards that are evil in the world today, you know."

"I do know this," Professor McGonagall informed him. "But as far as I have heard, none of them are plotting to take over the world and rid it of wizards without pure blood. Unless you know something, Seth?"

"I have told you once and I will tell you again that I know nothing of a new uprising," Professor Jamisona said defensively. "Now, Minerva, it is far too late for an old wizard like myself to be awake. I'll go to sleep now."

"Whatever you wish," Professor McGonagall told him. Hearing footsteps come toward her, Rose took that as her signal to leave. Heart pounding, she rushed down the corridor, ending up at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Let me in," she demanded.

"Ickle little first year," The Fat Lady teased. "What are you doing out of bed at such a late hour? You're sure to get caught, you know."

"Not if you let me in," Rose told her quickly. "I was finding out necessary information. The password is _Rictumsempra."_

"Necessary information?" The Fat Lady cocked an eyebrow. "It is not necessary for you first years to know anything but what is in your textbooks. But fine, I will open for you. But _just this once. _If you need any more _necessary information, _find it out during the day time."

Nodding profusely, Rose waited until the door finally swung open and rushed into the Gryffindor common room. She ran up the stairs and, still breathing heavily, collapsed into her bed.

"Rose? Is that you?" Molly muttered. "What are you doing up at three in the morning?"

"I'll explain it to you in the morning," Rose told her quickly. "Go back to sleep, Molly, it's too early."

Molly quickly dozed off. Rose, however, was still not so lucky. Many theories were buzzing through her head.

_Was Jamisona a Death Eater? _She wondered. This theory didn't seem very likely. After all, due to the intense heat yesterday, the professor had been wearing a short-sleeve shirt, and there was no sign of any Dark Mark on either of his arms. Maybe he was the next Voldemort, a wizard with a corrupted desire to rid the world of Muggle-born wizards. She wasn't sure anymore. All that she knew was that he was even more suspicious than last time she'd seen him.

Thoughts pushed aside, she finally fell asleep. She dreamt of Professor Jamisona announcing that he was the next Voldemort and demanding all Muggle-borns to walk to the front. Lorrie Garrow sent her a worried glance. Then there was a flash of green light and-

Sweating, Rose woke up from her nightmare. As her hands found the covers around her, she sighed in relief that it was only a dream.

"Rose?" Molly was awake too, then. "What in the name of Merlin were you doing running into our dorm at 3 AM? You were acting as if you were being chased or going to get caught. Y'know, your breathing was really heavy and all."

"Long story, Molly," Rose told her.

Glancing around at the three other sleeping girls, Molly raised an eyebrow and told her, "I've got time."

"Last night," Rose began, "I kept hearing noises, so I crept down to where Professor Jamisona's office is. I heard McGonagall and Jamisona talking, so I listened to what they were saying."

"You _eavesdropped_?" Molly's eyes looked as if they were about to bulge out of her skull.

"No!" Rose replied defensively. "I _listened._"

"Same thing," said the still-shocked Molly. "I had no idea you were that _bad, _Rose."

"I'm not!" Rose protested hotly. "Anyway, they were talking about his lessons. McGonagall kept telling him how it wasn't important for us to know the Unforgivable Curses, but he kept arguing about how it was. It was if he knew something, and McGonagall felt the same. It was kind of like he was saying that he knew that- that-" she swallowed. "It's as if he _knows _that there's a new Dark Lord on the rise."

Molly shot up. "You don't think-"

"No, I don't," Rose reassured her. "But from the way he's speaking, it's as if he expects there to be one. That makes him even less trustworthy, don't you think? An avid supporter of any Dark Lord, great idea for a professor."

"Eh, they've had worse," Molly joked, but then her face turned serious. "I don't like the sound of this, Rose."

"Me neither," Rose agreed quickly, feeling scared for her future for the first time since she had arrived at Hogwarts.

**A/N: Next chapter, things get interesting! I already have it written- I forgot to upload this chap o.o. But ****thanks to all of my lovely, lovely, lovely reviewers: mirage888, coketree20, yoyo, CandyforniaGurl851, sherbertgirl, and That Crazy Seddie Girl. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get back to you this time! But next time I definitely will because… *drumroll***

**I'm offering an incentive to review! Here it is: If you review, I will PM or DocX or something you one freeverse of your choice, either ScorpiusMollyLysander or RoseScorpius. Either one I will send you, but if and only if you review! So leave a review with your choice in it, and I will PM you either ****Fire and Ice ****or ****Hot and Cold****. **

_**And, **_**if you hurry up and review, I will upload the next chapter, entitled **_**The Keeper of the Fire**_**, in which we actually find out what the title's all about. And there's a lot more ScorRose, plus some AlbusRoseScorpius trio friendship!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Keeper of the Fire

**Chapter 6: The Keeper of the Fire and the Secrets of Hogwarts**

The days passed quickly at Hogwarts.

After his warning, Professor Jamisona didn't try anything too funny with them. There was still an evil aura about him, though, and some feeling that Rose didn't like.

In the hall one day, Rose was walking with Albus (_and Scorpius, who'd insisted he must tag along)_. "He just doesn't seem right, y'know? There's something _off _about him?"

"I know," Albus agreed, frowning slightly. "I just can't put my finger on it, though. His teaching methods are kind of... _unorthodox _but that can't be the only thing that's off about him."

Chuckling, Rose agreed. "There are too many things off about him. Guess we'll never quite figure him out."

"Good thing it's Saturday," Albus sighed. "Good thing I have a Quidditch game later today, too."

"Still can't believe you made Seeker your first year," Scorpius grumbled from beside him. "Taking after your dad, aren't you? Little Seeker- 'cept you're Slytherin, of course. Imagine that would make you different."

"Obviously," Albus chuckled. "I would suppose I am in that way, and of course, my looks. But my _precious _father was not a Slytherin. No way, no how- Harry Potter was the saviour of Hogwarts, the symbol of happiness. No way would he ever be caught dead in Slytherin."

"It's okay," Rose replied, giving him a huge, rosy smile. "At least you're not being disowned or anything like that. You're still old Albus, except you're now _Slytherin _old Albus. Which makes you that much cooler."

"The word Slytherin does sound cool, doesn't it?" Scorpius mused. "So does Salazar. Merlin, that's so much better than my name. _Salazar Slytherin, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy._"

"Well, at least you've got an original name," Albus argued. "_Albus Severus- _that's so second generation."

"Mine's not that great, either," Rose argued. "_Rosalie Nymphadora_, don't know what my parents were thinking-"

Frowning as if in deep thought, Scorpius cut her off. "Hey, what's that?"

Both Rose and Albus swivelled their heads to see what he was talking about. Sitting right in front of him was a large white door that they'd never seen before. Confused, they all approached it slowly. Rose tapped on the door twice, but nothing happened. Wide-eyed, she turned to the two boys. "Reckon we should open it?"

"Can't hurt, can it?" Albus asked, bottle green eyes wide as saucers.

Biting his lip, Scorpius stared at it, examining it. "Wonder what's inside. C'mon, Rose, open the door."

"Can't you?" She complained bitterly to him.

"I would," He shrugged. "But you're closer to it, and therefore I think it's only fair that you get the _amazing _privilege of opening the door. Well, go ahead, dear Rose, let's see it. Gryffindor bravery and all of that."

Scowling, Rose slowly twisted the handle open. The door fell open slowly, revealing something they had never seen the likes of before. A large, bronze pedestal sat in the middle of the room. On top of it blazed a bright orange fire, one that appeared to not let up in its fierceness. The rest of the room held nothing, but the walls were beautiful in their own intricate beauty- carved designs on the walls, large maroon curtains, gold designs and curtain racks. Red carpet was spread across the room, and as they stepped in, it was soft in a way Rose had never felt before. Glancing up, she noticed the gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The room was lighted entirely by the candles that the chandelier contained.

"Wow," Rose breathed.

"By the looks of it," Scorpius scowled, "I'd say that this room belonged to one Godric Gryffindor. Red and gold, the whole of it- where's the Slytherin room?"

Albus just laughed. Slowly, he approached the fire. "What do you reckon is in the fire?"

"I don't know," Rose replied, still glancing about. "And I'm not going to stay to find out. This room is obviously off limits."

"Oh, come on, Rose," Scorpius frowned. "We're just having a look, what harm can it do? It's not as if we're going to break anything. And who says it's off limits? If it's off limits, they shouldn't let first years be able to break in. Use that Gryffindor bravery of yours."

"Fine," Rose agreed hesitantly, following her cousin over to the large pedestal. There seemed to be something blazing within it, something that hadn't burned at all, but seemed to be on fire.

"Such an optical illusion," Albus blinked, eyes reflecting the bright fire. "Hey, I'm going to try to get the thing in the middle out."

"How? Are you honestly going to reach into the middle of that fire? You'll burn your hand off!" Rose admonished, swatting her cousin's hand back. "Don't you dare reach your hand in there! I'm not up for explaining to my aunt and uncle why my cousin came back from first semester with a burnt-off stub for a hand!"

"It's not real fire," Scorpius muttered absently, still staring into it. "Look, you can see- the flames don't bounce like a normal fire's flames do. And if it was real fire, how could that _thing_- whatever it is- stay within it and not be burned to ashes? Truthfully, I reckon that he could reach into it and have no harm done to him."

"Fine," Rose relented, giving into Scorpius for the third time that day. Why she gave into him so easily, she had no idea. Frowning, she backed up her statement. "But if Al's hand gets burned off, you're coming back with us and explaining to his parents _why _he has no hand. And _I _had nothing to do with this, just so you know."

Scorpius didn't see concerned in the least. Shrugging, he answered, "Whatever you want, Rose," and watched intently as Albus began to reach his hand into the fire.

Slowly, Albus moved his hand away from Rose's and closer to the fire. As he finally touched the fire, it seemed to do no harm to his hand. In fact, it seemed to be as if it were an illusion altogether. His fingers grasped the object within the fire. Eyes wide, he yelped, "It's a piece of paper!"

"Take it out!" Scorpius and Rose demanded in unison, glancing at each other. Quickly, Albus removed his hand from the fire, fingers still holding on to a single piece of paper.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked, always the worrier. Taking Albus' hand in her own, she examined it carefully. There was no sign of burn, no sign that he'd ever put his hand into the fire. Confused, she glanced up at the fire, which was still blazing away.

Scorpius was more interested in the piece of paper. "Oi! Albus, Rose, it's a letter! Come and see!"

Rose walked over and read over Scorpius' shoulder. The letter read:

_To that buffoon Minerva McGonagall, 'prized' Headmaster of Hogwarts:_

_Well, Minerva, I'd suppose you're not the 'next Dumbledore', if you've let me come this far. Yes, Minerva, I was able to find your precious Room of Secrets. This means I have access to all of the Secrets of Hogwarts. All of those things you and your comrades have attempted to cover up, those things are now all in my hands. You've lost, Minerva. I know you've suspected all of those things about me- but you can't prove them. You'll never be able to prove them._

_I've broken out of Azkaban, Minerva. I have done more than you'd ever hope to do in your worthless little __**Order of the Phoenix **__lives._

_Anyways, this letter is a Portkey. You'll be transported to the Library of Secrets in about a minute, where you'll be able to see all the things that I have done to your precious little library._

_Have fun._

_The Keeper of the Fire_

"The Keeper of the Fire?" Rose asked.

But her two friends' minds were on different matters. "A PORTKEY?" They yelped, but it was too late.

Suddenly, Rose felt a jerking sensation in her stomach. It was quite uncomfortable, but then she felt as if she was being pulled forward. Then, suddenly, her body was in the air, and she was being spiralled towards somewhere. So were Scorpius and Albus, apparently, her shoulder brushing Albus' and Scorpius'- they were all three spiralling towards somewhere, and then-

_Smack_. Rose fell face-forward into the dark green carpet. Or, rather, what was left of it. Dizzy, she pushed herself up.

"Wh- where are we?" Rose stuttered, glancing about the room. Charred books and paper littered what was left of the room. It was obviously Slytherin themed at one time, what with the green carpet and silver panelling, but it had been burnt down by someone. Probably this _Keeper of the Fire Person._

"No clue," replied Scorpius, looking just as confused as Rose felt. "It looks like a library, doesn't it?"

"It does," Albus said in shock. Glancing down, he gasped. "Look, a letter!"

Crowding around, all three of them read the letter aloud.

_Dear 'beloved' Headmaster, Minerva McGonagall,_

_Yes, this is what is left of your room that was filled with all of the secrets of Hogwarts. I've burnt it down, as to disguise any sign of who I am (you know who I am, don't you? You always did). But I have all of the secrets of Hogwarts._

_Behind, I've left the file on one of your more __**prized **__students, Albus Severus Potter. He is quite the revolutionist, isn't he? Going into Slytherin like some common pure-blood. But I have the files on everyone else. Here's a riddle to help you find all of the files. I always loved __**riddles**__, didn't I?_

_The more you have of it, the less you see  
At this time come and play with me  
If you drop me, I'll surely crack  
But if you smile at me, I'll smile right back_

_See you there, Minerva. That is- if you can figure it out._

The Keeper of the Fire

Confused, Rose glanced up at the two boys. Scorpius was absentmindedly biting his lip again, probably trying to figure out the riddle. Albus was twirling a stray piece of hair around his finger.

"Got anything?" Rose muttered, frowning.

"No," Scorpius said, still staring at the paper as if it would reveal something else if they stared at it for too long. "But I think they're two separate riddles... you know, _The more you have it, the less you see/ If you drop me, I'll surely crack, but if you smile at me, I'll smile right back._"

"What about _At this time come and play with me?" _Albus wondered.

"It's probably modifying _the more you have of it, the less you see_," Rose explained, catching on. "Which means that this is describing some sort of time, perhaps a time of day."

Stuffing the letter in his pocket, Albus declared, "We'll figure it out later. But right now I want to see this file on me."

Picking up the second piece of paper, Albus smoothed it out. All of them leaned over it.

_Albus Severus Potter_

_Son of __**Ginevra Molly Weasley Potter **__and __**Harry James Potter **_

_First Year, Slytherin_

_After arriving at Hogwarts, this boy has caused quite a stir. First, he was sorted into Slytherin, a feat unachieved by any past Potter or Weasley. This in itself sets him apart from all other students. He's also been said to be a star Quidditch player, becoming Seeker of the Slytherin team in his first year._

_**But is everything what it seems?**_

_Sources say that Albus Potter has been seen as a rebel of sorts. Since his namesake and his father were both exceptional wizards, this eleven-year-old has big shoes to fill. Some say that this is why he's been trying, from the very beginning, to change his image._

"_He seemed happy when he was sorted into Slytherin," one fellow Slytherin said. "You would expect a Potter-Weasley to be more concerned or worried, but after the initial shock, he was fine with it. No requested changes, nothing of the sort."_

_Over the course of the last few weeks, Albus Severus has had __**3 **__detentions. Two were for back-talking Professor Jamisona; one was for being in the corridors after hours. Albus' fellow male Slytherins (in his year) include a close friend, Scorpius Malfoy (a close friend of Albus', perhaps a threat to his innocence?), Dawson Nott, Augustus Flint, and Allan Rosier. _

_Some sources believe that, because of his sorting, Albus Potter may not follow in his father's footsteps. Instead, he will become the next major Dark Wizard. Close surveillance is being kept on him at Hogwarts because of these suspicions. Also, main information regarding the past Wizarding War is being kept from him, so that he will not follow in Voldemort's footsteps instead._

_Is Albus Severus Potter a promise or a threat? Only time will tell._

At the bottom of the page, a large photo of Albus, blinking and smiling, filled the place. Enraged, Albus tossed down the sheet of paper. "THEY EXPECT ME TO BECOME THE NEXT DARK LORD? ARE THEY MENTALLY STABLE? RUBBISH, ALL OF IT!"

Terrified, Rose and Scorpius exchanged worried looks. Reaching out, Rose placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Al, calm down. They don't know what they're talking about, obviously."

"Agreed, mate," Scorpius agreed. "Just because you're a Slytherin doesn't mean you're planning to take over the world. I suppose I've proved that."

"You have, have you?" Albus raised one stormy black eyebrow. "_How so_?"

"My father's _Draco Malfoy, _Death Eater," Scorpius reminded him. "But you don't see me wanting to take over the world.

Wordlessly, Rose placed a hand on his back, and kept her other hand on Albus' shoulder. Albus wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and picked up his file, which had _Portkey _scrawled on the back. All three of them held onto it. The gripping sensation seized them again, and in a flurry of colour they were transported back to the castle.

Exiting the room quietly, they, still holding the letters and file, walked down the corridors when they ran into Louis, Natalie, Molly, Dominique, Lysander, Aquarius, and Lorcan.

"Great, Ravenclaws," Rose forced a smile. "I need to speak to you. Oh, and the rest of you too, I guess."

Nodding, Natalie replied, "Of course we'll help. Just... what is it?"

"We can't talk out here," Rose replied, eyeing the 'carefully surveyed' hallways. She grabbed the girl's arm. "Come on, let's duck into this room."

It turned out to just be a deserted classroom, and all of them filed in behind her. Conveniently, a table sat there just for them, filled with chairs. Smiling, Rose voiced her opinion. "Excellent."

Eyes wide, Lysander muttered, "The Room of Requirement! We've found it!"

"The Room of Requirement?" Molly asked, eyeing it.

"What, your father never mentioned it?" Lysander replied. "It's only the most amazing room in all of Hogwarts! It will transform itself to meet your needs. So, if you walk by and say, 'I need a bathroom', it will transform into a bathroom."

"Really?" Rose looked amazed. "Come on, let's sit down." In front of her, a whiteboard, perfect for what she needed it for, appeared in front of her.

Down the table, Rose counted them off in her head. _Louis, Natalie, Molly, Lysander, Dominique, Albus, Aquarius, Scorpius, Lorcan._ Perfect, almost all of them (except Louis) were in McGonagall's Army.

"Does anyone know what this riddle could mean?" Rose scrawled it on the board in her impeccable handwriting. _The more you have it, the less you see._

All of them, especially the Ravenclaws, seemed to be examining it carefully. After a few minutes, Natalie spoke. "It's easy. The answer is _darkness._"

"Darkness!" Rose exclaimed. "Great job, Natalie! That fits it perfectly." _We're supposed to go when it's dark outside, _Rose thought. Scorpius and Albus nodded in agreement, and Louis whispered, "Good job for a Ravenclaw." Natalie hit him in the back of the head, and rubbing his neck, he high-fived her.

"What about this one?" Rose asked, pumped by Natalie's recent success. Underneath she scrawled, _If you drop me, I'll surely crack, but if you smile at me, I'll smile right back._

Again, the wizards and witches examined the riddle. However, they seemed to be working for much longer this time. Finally, Lorcan spoke. "No idea."

"Me neither," All of them agreed in unison.

Glancing up at the clock, Albus announced, "I have Quidditch practice, so I should probably be going now. I'll see you later, Rose."

"Bye, Albus!" She called.

All of the others slumped back in their seats, probably sad that they weren't also able to make the team in their first years. Rose just sighed. "You can all go if you want to."

As the others left, Molly grabbed Rose's shoulder. "What is _this _all about?"

**A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks to all of my lovely, lovely, lovely reviewers: mirage888, coketree20, yoyo, CandyforniaGurl851, sherbertgirl, and That Crazy Seddie Girl. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get back to you this time! But next time I definitely will because… *drumroll***

**I'm offering an incentive to review! Here it is: If you review, I will PM or DocX or something you one freeverse of your choice, either ScorpiusMollyLysander or RoseScorpius. Either one I will send you, but if and only if you review! So leave a review with your choice in it, and I will PM you either ****Fire and Ice ****or ****Hot and Cold****. **

**So, hurry up and review! And you **_**can **_**guess who the Keeper of the Fire is, but I won't tell you. :D**


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